2022

2022International NewsAsia

Myanmar Military Vows to ‘Annihilate’ Resistance

Myanmar’s military vowed to crack down on opposition forces as the nation celebrated its Armed Forces Day, reports Al Jazeera. The leader of Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, claimed that his forces would ‘annihilate’ civilian opposition groups and urged ethnic minorities away from supporting militia groups that oppose the Tatmadaw, the country’s military-led government. However, one civilian resistance group, the National Unity Government, prompted people to take part in a ‘Power Strike’, turning off their lights and TVs during the parade broadcast ABC News reports. 

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Eastern Europe2022Asia

India’s Neutral Foreign Policy Threatened by Ukraine Crisis

On February 24, Russia made the conscious decision to invade Ukraine for yet another time since 2014. This active encroachment into non-Russian territory, which was condemned internationally, triggered the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, reports Reuters. Although Europe has been heavily affected by this Russian aggression, the actions taken by those less impacted by the conflict will set the tone for how the international community reacts to similar crises in the future.

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Eastern Europe2022

Russian Attacks on Mariupol Devastate the City

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky compared the ongoing Russian siege of Mariupol as mirroring the Nazi siege of Leningrad in a speech on March 16 as the city underwent heavy bombardment by the Russian military, reports The Guardian. This comparison may not be entirely inaccurate, as The Red Cross claims that the Russian Siege of Mariupol is veering towards a humanitarian crisis. Ukrainian reports estimate nearly 3,000 civilians have been killed.

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2022Americas

Anti-Abortion, Anti-Homosexual Legislation Blocked in Guatemala

On March 15, Guatemala’s Congress reversed the decision to pass the controversial “Protection of Life and Family” law (Law 5272), which aimed to strengthen penalties for abortion, prohibit same-sex marriage, and ban discussions of sexual diversity in schools, according to The Washington Post. The decision to indefinitely table the bill came just a week after it first passed with an overwhelming majority of 101-8, with 51 legislators absent.

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2022International NewsAmericas

Ex-Honduran President Could Face Extradition to U.S.

A Honduran judge authorized the extradition of ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez,  a month after police arrested him at his house per the request of the United States government, reports The Washington Post. The Associated Press notes that allegations against Hernandez were revealed in the trials of both Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernandez, a former Honduran congressman, and the president’s brother, and Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez. Hernandez will face charges of manufacturing, trafficking, and distribution of drugs and firearms in southern New York. 

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March 20222022International NewsAfrica

Somalia Elections Again Delayed, Drawing Western Warnings

Somalia’s federal parliamentary elections have been postponed with no planned makeup date, drawing the ire of Western backers that have condemned the delay. 

March 15 was the deadline for each of Somalia’s five states to separately hold elections for the country’s lower house of parliament. By the end of the day, however, the central government failed to announce the completion of the vote nationwide. While voting was completed in the states of South West and Galmudug, the states of Jubaland, Hirshabelle, and Puntland cumulatively still had 40 vacant seats to fill as of the date of the deadline, according to Africanews.

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March 2022Opinion2022

As the Global West Prepares to Relax COVID Restrictions, is it Doing Enough to Combat Vaccine Inequality across Africa?

It has been two years since the World Health Organization’s designation of the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Since then, there have been 452,201,564 confirmed cases of COVID-19, along with 6,029,852 related deaths worldwide, reports WHO. As the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and local governments relax COVID-19 restrictions within the United States, the pandemic is still raging in developing nations, as both their economy and national morale struggle to regain normalcy. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately highlighted the growing global divide in the distribution of vaccine doses, particularly exposing vaccine inequality across Africa. 

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March 2022Opinion2022International NewsAsia

With the World Watching, Could Taiwan be at Risk?

Considering the strategic and symbolic significance of Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China, several experts have argued that China’s invasion of the island is a matter of when and not if. Many have questioned Chinese President Xi Jinping’s decision to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, given that Russia’s actions are in direct contradiction to China’s century-long foreign policy tenet of non-interference.

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March 20222022International NewsAsia

Killer of Noor Muqaddam Sentenced in Pakistan

On February 24,  Zahir Jaffer was sentenced to death by hanging for the 2021 high-profile rape and murder of Noor Muqaddam in Pakistan, reports The Guardian. The killing of Muqaddam has been front page news in Pakistan since its occurrence, due to the upper-class status of both individuals. Muqaddam, the daughter of former Pakistan diplomat Shakaut Ali Muqaddam, and Jaffer, the son of one of the wealthiest industrial families in Pakistan, had known each other for most of their lives, as they had grown up in high society with the same circle of friends, reports BBC News. 

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